NEW CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM FIRST SIGN-UP ANNOUNCED FOR MONTANA

August 6, 2009

For More Information:
Carrie Mosley, 406-587-6967

Bozeman--United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced a continuous sign-up period beginning August 10 for the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), with the first sign-up period cut-off date of September 30. CSP is a voluntary program encouraging agricultural and nonindustrial private forestry landowners to enhance conservation efforts.

The new CSP is open to all farmers, ranchers, and nonindustrial private forest landowners in Montana. “This is a great opportunity for Montana producers to enhance conservation activities,” says Steve Hedstrom, President of the Montana Association of Conservation Districts. “This is an important new opportunity for Montana that benefits our land and the producers who participate.” Operators must establish land records with USDA through the local Service Center office.

Congress, in the 2008 Farm Bill, renamed and completely revamped the former Conservation Security Program to improve its availability and appeal to producers. Eligible lands include cropland (including hayland), rangeland, pastureland, nonindustrial private forestland (a new land use for the program), and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. Eligible applicants may include individual operators, legal entities, and Indian tribes. Applications must be submitted by September 30 to be considered for funding in Montana’s first ranking period.

To apply for the newly revamped CSP, potential participants are advised to use a self-screening checklist first to determine whether the new program is suitable for them or their operation. “Those operators who have been using effective conservation practices should be able to take the self assessment and determine if they are likely qualified,” says NRCS Montana State Conservationist Joyce Swartzendruber. The points for program selection are determined by the baseline of conservation stewardship already met and, more importantly, what extra conservation measures operators are willing to do to address additional resource concerns. A higher point score will be achieved on cropland by adding a resource-conserving crop (a perennial grass, legume, or grass/legume grown for use as forage, seed for planting, or green manure, or a high-residue producing crop, or a cover crop following an annual crop) to improve the existing rotation. An example could be a year of a forage crop or a seasonal cover crop within the existing rotation.

After the self-screening, the producer’s current and proposed conservation practices are entered into a “Conservation Measurement Tool” (CMT). That function will be performed at the local NRCS field office; however, a list of the questions to be asked in the CMT process is available for advanced pickup at the local field office by applicants, allowing them to prepare answers and schedule a return appointment to have the answers entered into the CMT. After the applications are ranked, NRCS field staff in Montana will conduct on-site field verifications of preapproved participants based on the CMT information. Once the potential participant has been field-verified and approved for funding, a conservation stewardship plan must be developed. USDA is finalizing the program’s policies and procedures. The CSP interim final rule, published in the Federal Register, is open for public comment through September 28.

For additional information, contact your local NRCS field office or go to http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/new_csp/csp.html on the NRCS Web site

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